Pastor's Pen

  Pastor’s Pen… In his book Good to Great , business authority Jim Collins uses the metaphor of a bus to make the point that, for a business to succeed, the most important thing is to get the right people in the right places before planning strategy or tactics. Many centuries earlier Jesus came to a point in His ministry where He selected the men He would disciple and train to carry out His mission of spreading the Gospel and making disciples worldwide. Ironically, by today’s standards, the men He chose would not be considered qualified for such an enormous task. As I point out in my book Master Discipleship Today, (pp. 61, 62) these men were lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude, and had leadership and even emotional deficiencies. Yet these were the men chosen by the Master to carry out the most important mission ever entrusted to human beings-- carrying the message of everlasting life to a world under the bondage of sin and death. ***** We appreciate thos...

  Pastor’s Pen… What does the word confrontation due to you? For some people confrontation is the worst thing they can think of, and they would do anything to avoid it.  Others are delighted to confront, and will sometimes go out of their way to do so.  A third category of people will confront if absolutely necessary, seeing confrontation as like a heavy-duty antibiotic or vaccine. If we follow the example of Jesus, we would find ourselves in the third category. The only confronted when necessary, but in this portion of the gospel of Mark it was time for Jesus to confront the religious authorities. In this section Mark records for instances of confrontation, and there are lessons we can learn from these. ***** We appreciate those who help sanitize our facilities for services each Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday worship as well as those who make it possible for us to ‘live-stream’ on Facebook at 10:45 each Sunday morning, and to post each Sunday’s message on...

  Pastor’s Pen… One of the most popular biographical styles employed by authors is to trace through the events in a sample day in the life of a person. For example, Jim Bishop has written about the day President Kennedy was assassinated, and Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich.  It is this technique that Mark employees at the outset of his presentation of the ministry of God's servant Jesus Christ. It is an incredibly busy 24 hours, packed with action, event after event touching lives.  However Mark is not simply stringing events together to show us how busy Jesus is. The common thread in this section is the authority of Jesus, God's servant. ***** We appreciate those who help sanitize our facilities for services each Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday worship as well as those who make it possible for us to ‘live-stream’ on Facebook at 10:45 each Sunday morning, and to post each Sunday’s message on our website (www.fccwylie.org...

  Pastor’s Pen… It's been said that to fail to prepare is to prepare to fail. In our lives, preparation is essential for success in any venture.  In Mark's Gospel Jesus is presented as the one who came to be the servant of the Lord. Our text this weekend presents two steps of preparation before Jesus launched his public ministry. There are significant lessons we can learn as we examined these steps. ***** We appreciate those who help sanitize our facilities for services each Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday worship as well as those who make it possible for us to ‘live-stream’ on Facebook at 10:45 each Sunday morning, and to post each Sunday’s message on our website (www.fccwylie.org) on Sunday afternoons.  If you haven't come out to worship with us recently, we sure love to have you! We continue to hold our Sunday services with all safety protocols and pre-service sanitizing in place. No Sunday school yet, and the nursery is not available.  We will co...

  Pastor’s Pen… This Sunday, the first Sunday of the New Year, we begin our series of messages through “The Fast Food Gospel.” Did you figure out which one it is? One of the biggest changes in our country over the last half-century has been a transformation in the eating habits of Americans. When I was growing up, most meals were eaten at home, with restaurant outings on rare occasions. Then a man named Ray Kroc introduced a restaurant with golden arches out front, and McDonald’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, KFC and dozens of other fast food businesses began to proliferate.  I’ve labeled the gospel of Mark the ‘fast food’ Gospel, and I believe it is ideally suited for 21st-century Christians. It was written to people in Rome, Gentiles, who were under pressure, facing persecution. Mark was the first Gospel to be written, and it contains a great deal of eyewitness detail.  The theme and outline of the book can be found in Mark 10:45; “For even the Son of Man did not come ...

 P astor’s Pen… I'm delighted to welcome a guest preacher this weekend, particularly after six hours of live radio Christmas Eve into Christmas morning. Special thanks to each of you who prayed, who gave, and who helped spread the word about Christmas Hope. Dr. Paul Pettit is the Executive Director of Dynamic Dads, and ministry providing education and encouragement to families and fathers. Paul also serves as Director of Career Services at Dallas Theological Seminary. Next Sunday, the first Sunday of the New Year, we will begin our series of messages through “The Fast Food Gospel.” Have you figured out which one it is yet? ***** We appreciate those who help sanitize our facilities for services each Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday worship as well as those who make it possible for us to ‘live-stream’ on Facebook at 10:45 each Sunday morning, and to post each Sunday’s message on our website (www.fccwylie.org) on Sunday afternoons.  If you haven't come out to wor...

 P astor’s Pen… Christmas is a time of secrets! From items hidden away in closets to gaily wrapped packages under the tree to surprise, unexpected visits from loved ones, there are many secrets it's around this special season. There are some Christmas secrets found in Scripture as well. For example, there is one four- letter word that defines the essence of Christmas. That word is L-O-V-E. The proof? John 3:16. But what does this secret meeting to you and to me? First, we have received his gift of love when we trust him as Savior. Also, I demonstrate His love in my life toward others. ***** We appreciate those who help sanitize our facilities for services each Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday worship as well as those who make it possible for us to ‘live-stream’ on Facebook at 10:45 each Sunday morning, and to post each Sunday’s message on our website (www.fccwylie.org) on Sunday afternoons.  If you haven't come out to worship with us recently, we sure love to ...